Baptiste Giabiconi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Baptiste Giabiconi
Born	(1989-11-09) 9 November 1989 (age 35) Marignane, France
Other names	Baptiste
Modeling information
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Agency	DNA Model Management

Baptiste Giabiconi (born 9 November 1989) is a famous French model and singer. He was a special friend and inspiration to the well-known fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Baptiste is from Marignane, France. For many years, he was the main male model for big fashion brands like Chanel, Fendi, and Karl Lagerfeld's own brand.

Early Life and Education

Baptiste Giabiconi was born in Marignane, France. His family comes from Corsica, an island in France. His father is from Bastia and his mother from Calvi, both in Corsica. He spent his early childhood near Bastia before moving to Marseille.

Baptiste studied in the food service industry. He also trained for six months to be a mechanical adjuster. This led him to a job at Eurocopter, a company that makes helicopters.

Modelling Career Highlights

In January 2007, a talent scout saw Baptiste at a sports club in Marseille. The scout suggested he try modelling. Baptiste put together a modelling portfolio. He sent it to many agents, but at first, he didn't get any offers. He kept modelling locally in Marseille. In 2008, Baptiste signed with DNA Model Management in New York.

That same year, the famous designer Karl Lagerfeld chose Baptiste to be the main male model for Chanel. Baptiste walked in the final shows for Chanel's haute couture collections in 2009 and 2010. He also appeared in ads for Schwarzkopf products in 2010. In 2011, he was in ads for the German car company Volkswagen with Karl Lagerfeld. He also modeled for Karl Lagerfeld's perfumes, watches, and eyeglasses. Baptiste was also the face of Monster headphones. He even appeared in a Coca-Cola Light campaign with model Coco Rocha. Karl Lagerfeld took the photos for this campaign.

In 2011, Baptiste was the face of the Spring-Summer collection for H&M.

He has been featured in many fashion magazines. These include Vogue (like Vogue Paris and Vogue Japan), Elle, Numéro Homme, and Harper's Bazaar. In 2010, he was photographed for the Roberto Cavalli campaign with Kate Moss. He also posed for L'Officiel Homme and Grazia. Baptiste appeared with Lara Stone in a short film by Karl Lagerfeld for the Chanel collection.

For about two years, Baptiste was ranked as the number 1 male model in the world by models.com. Later, he was placed on their "Icons" list of top male models.

Music Career Journey

Baptiste Giabiconi released his first song, "Showtime," in 2010. In 2012, he signed a deal with My Major Company. This company helps artists make music with support from fans. His first album, called Oxygen, came out in September 2012. It had 13 songs, all in English language. The album went straight to number 1 on the French Albums Chart. The first song from the album was "One Night in Paradise." Another song from the album was "Speed of Light (L'amour & les étoiles)."

When he was 16, in 2011, he tried out for the TV show Nouvelle Star. This is a singing competition, but he didn't make it to the live shows.

In 2012, Baptiste was part of a special album. It was a tribute to the songs of Jean-Jacques Goldman. Baptiste sang "Là-bas" as a duet with Canadian singer Marie-Mai. He also sang on the song "Il suffira d'un signe" on the same album.

In June 2014, he released his second album, Un homme libre. This album was his first in French language and had 12 songs. It was not as successful as his first album, reaching number 44 on the French charts. One song from this album, "Je t'emmène avec moi," was also released.

Baptiste's biggest music success came in 2016. He released a cover of the Donna Summer hit "Love to Love You Baby." He added new lyrics and a modern electronic dance music (EDM) style. This song became very popular and reached number 4 on the official French Singles Chart.

Business Ventures and Projects

Baptiste Giabiconi started a theme restaurant called Tokio Sushi. He created it with two partners, Patrice Merlo and Alexis Leng. The first restaurant opened in Saint-Victoret, France, in May 2012. A second one opened in Velaux in July 2014. These restaurants offer a sushi bar and Korean barbecue.

In March 2015, Baptiste launched a special collection of streetwear clothing. He worked with the brand Eleven Paris for this. Some of the photos for this clothing collection were taken by Karl Lagerfeld himself.

In 2016, Baptiste published a calendar. It featured 26 black and white photos taken by Mariano Vivanco.

On May 16, 2017, Baptiste became a major investor and president of the French football club FC Martigues. This club plays in the National 2 league, which is the fourth level of professional football in France. However, this project did not go well. He had to resign from his position after a review by the DNCG. This organization checks the finances of professional football clubs in France.

In 2018, Baptiste worked with Théo Griezmann. Théo is the brother of famous football star Antoine Griezmann. They created a special clothing collection called Gz Brand X Giabiconi. The money from this collection went to the FCM Fondation charity. This charity helps build football facilities in poorer areas, youth hospitals, and prisons.

Personal Life and Family

Baptiste Giabiconi was very close to the designer Karl Lagerfeld. Many people saw Baptiste as Lagerfeld's "muse" or inspiration, starting in 2008 when Baptiste was 18. In a book he wrote in 2020 called Karl et moi (meaning Karl and me), Baptiste talked a lot about their relationship. He said it was a very strong, loving bond, like a father and son. He mentioned that Lagerfeld even thought about adopting him. Baptiste said, "Often, we hugged. It was a very powerful filial relationship, with a love we could not describe." He also said that Lagerfeld gave him many gifts.

Lagerfeld's famous cat, Choupette, was originally Baptiste's cat. Baptiste left Choupette with Lagerfeld for a few days while he visited his mother. Lagerfeld quickly grew very fond of the cat, so Baptiste gave Choupette to him as a gift.

Baptiste shared in a TV interview in February 2020 that he was one of seven people named in Karl Lagerfeld's will. However, some people close to Lagerfeld's family have said that Baptiste was not part of the will.

Baptiste became a father on July 17, 2023. He announced on Instagram that his son, nicknamed Baptiste Jr. Giabiconi, was born.

Books

• Baptiste Giabiconi (with Jean-François Kervéan), Karl et moi, Paris, Robert Laffont, 2020, 240 p. ISBN: 978-2221246894.

Discography

Albums

Singles

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 chart, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts. Position in table reached by adding 50 positions to the actual Ultratip position

Other songs

Filmography

Films

• 2011: The Tale of a Fairy, a short film by Karl Lagerfeld.
• 2013: Once Upon a Time..., playing Eduardo Martinez De Hoz in a short film by Karl Lagerfeld.
• 2015: Nos chers voisins, a TV series, playing Enzo in the episode "Fêtent la nouvelle année."

Television

• 2012: Mère et Fille, a series on Disney Channel.
• 2014: Scènes de ménages, playing a plumber in the episode "Tenue correcte exigée."

Streaming

• 2023: The Mysterious Mr. Lagerfeld, a documentary by Michael Waldman.

Images for kids

• 

  Baptiste Giabiconi in 2014.